PINEHURST — Becoming the final spring sports program to officially start its season, the Richmond Senior High School boys’ golf team got things underway Tuesday.
Opening the new slate at Pinehurst No. 6, the Raiders and head coach Keith Parsons competed in a nine-hole match against other Sandhills Athletic Conference opponents.
Representing Richmond on the course were juniors James Pack, Kevin Tabacolde and Camden Williams, along with sophomores Graham Odom, Grayson Robson and CJ Turner.
All are returners to the team this season, save for Odom.
With each team using its top four scorers to combine for the team score, the Raiders placed third out of seven teams. Richmond finished the round with a team tally of 186.
Pinecrest High School won the match with a team score of 139, followed by second-place Lee County High School, which was just six strokes better than Richmond (180).
Other programs competing were Hoke County (190), Union Pines (195), Southern Lee (201) and Scotland (207) high schools.
"We had a great effort in our first match, with CJ and Kevin leading the way,” Parsons said. “Pinehurst No. 6 probably is the toughest course we'll play. Both were solid all day, and both finishing in the top 10 was impressive.
"Graham is a newcomer who has shown a lot of skill in practice, and that carried over to the match. Grayson, Camden and James are returners who probably left a bit disappointed in their scores, and I expect all three to bounce back next week in our conference match at Sanford Golf Club."
Leading the Raiders was Turner, who finished with a round score of 40, just four shots over par. He placed ninth overall in the field.
Tabacolde, a two-time regionals qualifier, was just behind Turner, shooting a 42 (+6). That score also put him in the top 10 of Tuesday’s match.
Rounding out Richmond’s top four scores were Odom and Robson. In his high school debut, Odom shot a 50 and Robson followed with a 54.
Posting respective scores of 56 and 58 were Williams and Pack.
Pete Myers of Pinecrest led the field with a round low score of 33 (-3).
The Raiders will play an 18-hole non-conference match at 7 Lakes Country Club Thursday. Golfers will tee off starting at 1 p.m. and face North Moore and North Stanly high schools.
Sports editor’s note: Statistics and match information provided by head coach Keith Parsons.
